1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to telecommunications devices. More specifically, the invention relates to a device, system, and method of replacing damaged pin connectors used in telecommunications equipment without taking the equipment off-line.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, optical transceivers are mounted in groups on a single card called a module. Modules (referenced herein as either “electronic modules” or “line modules”) come in several different sizes and shapes, however they are all generally flat with optical fibers connectable to transceivers on the front of the module.
The rear of the module is provided with a means of connecting the module into the rest of the system. Typically, an array of small sockets is provided which are adapted (i.e., shaped, dimensioned, designed, etc.) to receive and electrically connect to tiny pins. These pins are disposed in the backplane, a large circuit board disposed in the rearmost portion of the telecommunications equipment to which all of the modules are connected. The backplane is also provided with many small sockets for receiving and electrically connecting to the pins. The pins are insertable into the sockets of the backplane and project therefrom; when a module is placed into a piece of equipment, it is slid into a slot which aligns the sockets on the rear of the module with the pins projecting from the interior surface of the backplane. The pins enter the sockets of the module, and the module is thereby made part of the equipment.
Sometimes pins fail to provide adequate electrical contact between the module and the backplane. Pins can be initially inserted askew from their proper position or otherwise become misaligned, in which case they will not enter the sockets of the module properly. Also, because the interior of most telecommunications equipment is extremely densely packed with electronics, technicians can accidentally crush or misalign a pin or pins when servicing the equipment. The pins can fail even if they are projecting straight; if a module is shoved into its slot too forcefully or too quickly, the module sockets may become misaligned with the pins, and the module may crush or damage the pins. Further, pins may become dirty or corroded and not provide good electrical contact even if properly in place in both the backplane sockets and the module sockets.
Conventionally, to service such failed pins, one must take the telecommunications device off-line and out of service, potentially disrupting the network and the service it provides. This is, in part, owing to the placement of a mezzanine card behind the backplane in some devices which restricts access to the rear surface of the backplane. For a technician to access the backplane in such a configuration, the mezzanine card must be removed, and for that to occur, the entire telecommunications device must be taken out of service. Thus, the typical technician must go in from the front and pull the pins out of the backplane. Such an operation is difficult for several reasons. First, the pins are located up to several feet inside the device; reaching in that far can be problematic, and seeing inside that far can be extremely difficult. Further, when one removes an electronic module, the adjacent modules and the backplane are exposed. A technician can easily inadvertently interfere with an exposed electronic component and damage it.
The ideal way to remove failed or failing pins is to push them out of the pin connectors in the backplane by pushing on them from the rear of the backplane. The pins then fall out of their respective connectors, and new pins may be inserted (typically from the front surface of the backplane). However, the pins to be replaced typically fall into the chassis of the telecommunications device where they can strike and/or become wedged in other electronic components with possibly disastrous results. Even when the pins are removed from the front of the backplane as described above, they can fall from the grasp of the technician and become lodged in other modules.
It is desired to be able to service a piece of telecommunications equipment that employs this type of pin connection scheme without taking the equipment off line and without exposing other components to the risk of being damaged by accidental impact with a technician or falling pins being removed.